Inspiration from Florida

Whew, life has gotten super busy of late but I haven't forgotten about this little space of mine. While I'm working on some new posts I wanted to share with you all some of the inspiring artwork I saw while on my wonderful 2 week getaway to Florida back in May! 

Cauliflower "White/Alfredo" Sauce

Ok, so it has been a while since I posted a recipe for you all. In truth I cook dinner for my family nearly every night of the week but 75% of the time I'm half started on making dinner before I remember I should have grabbed my camera.  And about 50% of my meals are staple favorites like Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti, Grilled or Broiled Salmon, Grilled Chicken with various veggies or Salad. 

But it has been too long my friends! So when I was on Pinterest yesterday and saw a pin for Cauliflower Sauce, well I just had to try it and see if it turned out as well as the Cauliflower Pizza!

I also had a package of frozen "fresh" calamari and though I could add those into this meal. 

The Cauliflower Sauce is really simple. I'd go with white cauliflower unless you want to freak your fam out and buy the purple kind!

Cauliflower White Sauce:

Servings 4

Prep Time: 5-10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

1 Large fresh head of cauliflower 

8 cloves garlic

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste ( I found that because cauliflower is so bland that I had to season more than I normally would)

1. If using a whole head of cauli, cut off stalk and break into medium bunches.

2. Place cauliflower in pot over steamer rack (I'm not a fan of boiling but if you prefer you can boil them to) Steam for 6 minutes. 

3. Now de-skin garlic and mince. Place in unheated small skillet with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil and bring to medium temperature- cook about 3 minutes (don't let the garlic brown as it turns bitter tasting)

4. Drain cauliflower and reserve 1-2 cup of cooking liquid.  Place drained cauliflower in blender or food processor and add garlic with butter/oil mixture.

5. Blend 30 seconds, then add 1/2 cup water, blend 30 seconds. Add water until you reach desired consistency (do you like thick or thin sauce?) I added about 1 cup total. 

6. Serve over your favorite pasta, mix with rice for a "cheesy" sauce or use as white sauce  for pizza!  The sky is the limit really. 

I put mine over some gluten free spaghetti (I'd have used linguini if I'd had it) and added green peas and some pan sauteed calamari. And then I added Old Bay and it was delicious! :) The family approved! Except next time I think i will use a bolder flavored protein like salmon, ground turkey or shrimp because the whole dish while it looked nice was really bland even with the seasoning I'd added to the calamari and the sauce until I added some Old Bay. 

A Sunset Spot

Tonight I'm dreaming of deep purple and pink hued sunsets over my favorite summer spot on Schroon Lake. Hopefully I'll make it there this year as I didn't get to go last summer.

 Please pardon my less frequent posts. I have officially started my new job at the YMCA which I am so excited about but am kind of getting into the swing of it + my apprenticeship + working on grad school portfolio + blogging. So I'll be back to it more frequently in a week or two once I've gotten into my groove. :)

White on Red

I kind of have a thing for putting white glaze applied non-uniformly over my red stoneware pieces. I just love the rustic quality.

Mmm, I just love the visual interplay of the white with red peaking through!

A Collection of Old Books and Memories

Do you ever come across something that triggers a whole flood of memories? 

Growing up I loved going to Baltimore to visit my Nana and Grandfather. They lived in a beautiful white painted brick house in Towson, Md that looked so small from the outside but was full of delightful nooks and crannies that went on forever inside. And fit their large brood of 7 children with their spouses and 12 offspring in a comfortably cramped kind of way.

1217 was their last home, the home they lived in after their 7 children had grown up and moved out of the big granite house on the hill at 217 Edgvale Rd. 

I always thought it was wonderful how they'd bought a house number just 1 more than their last. 

One of my favorite rooms in their home was the library/study. It was by no means a vast grand library like the one in Beauty and the Beast with a ladder and multiple stories of book shelves. Or the one I heard about so often that had been in the 217 house. It was just a small room, the 1st on the left down the hall from the main living/family room, that had an extra long (longer than today's XL twins) twin bed, a roll top desk with dark green leather top work surface and 1 wall of book shelves full of old musty books and little treasures. Oh, and a huge bay window that looked over the back garden!

As I got older, I became an avid reader and I loved nothing more than to spend a rainy afternoon in that room lying propped up by a bunch of pillows on the bed by the big window deep into a good story.  It was also a favored napping spot for many in the Holljes clan, myself included. I loved running my fingers over the new and old books spines, reading the beautiful gold leaf print that was embossed on the spines. Books on Medicine and Art (my grandfather was a physician and in his retired years a painter), books on the History of Vikings and Viking Sagas, books of poetry, philosophy, music, mythology and even some old school books that my Dad and his siblings used to carry to school. 

It's where I found an old crumbling copy of one of my favorite books, A Little Princess, and after asking my Grandfather's permission, took it home with me. 

So when I was visiting my Aunt and Uncles in St. Augustine, I couldn't help but be taken back when I walked into their office/ spare room with the wall of book shelves and a collection of some of those very same books I'd seen so often as a child. 

Lovely Linens

I have a thing for crisp white linens and lace. I'm fortunate enough to have a few in my possession that my great great grandmother and great grandmother made. So when my Aunt pulled out a stack of vintage and antique beautifully preserved linens that her mother-in-law had left her I couldn't help but pull out my camera and photograph them. 

They're just so lovely!

The Dali Museum

Went to the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg while I was in Florida.

Taking pictures in the gallery wasn't allowed so instead I took pictures of the gorgeous architecture of the museum itself. It was fantastic! I can't wait to pick up the black and white film I took!